Unrest is Breeding among The Alevis
By Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 6, no. 16 of the Turkey Analyst)
Recent developments demonstrate that the historical quietude of the Alevi minority in Turkey now belongs to history, and make abundantly clear that the risk of radicalization cannot be ignored. As the Turkish government is not demonstrating any intention to meet the demands of the Alevis to be treated as equal citizens, enjoying the same rights as the Sunnis, the unrest that is breeding among the Alevis is likely to grow. That is especially so as the Alevis have increasingly come to see what is happening in Syria as being connected to their own situation, and are interpreting the Sunni, sectarian bent of Turkey’s regional policies as an expression of a Sunni determination to punish “heretics”.
One Step from the Brink: Turkey's Kurdish Peace Process Edges Closer to Collapse
By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 6, no. 16 of the Turkey Analyst)
On September 9, 2013, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it had halted the phased withdrawal of its militants from Turkey but would continue with its temporary ceasefire in order to give the Turkish government a last opportunity to meets its demands for greater rights for the country’s Kurdish minority.
Could Class Dynamics Bring Back Moderation to Turkey?
by Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 6, no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s resurrection of the ideological militancy of a bygone era is not a recipe for political success. The class dynamics that once brought about the moderation of the Turkish Islamic movement are even stronger today. Differences of culture and life style still separate the two middle classes of Turkey, the religiously conservative Anatolian bourgeoisie and the secular bourgeoisie. Yet, Turkey’s political future will likely be shaped by their synergy, indeed alliance. It is reasonable to expect that the material interests of the combined bourgeoisie will revive political moderation.
Turkey's Dynamic Railway Expansion Has Larger Regional Implications
by John Daly (vol. 6 no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)
Turkey is actively seeking to restore the Silk Road, and the country’s massive investment in railway expansion is an expression of this ambition. Turkey’s massive railway projects are certainly going to bolster its ambitions to be a major transport corridor, which in turn will have geo-strategic consequences. When the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail line becomes operational by 2014, it will offer for the first time the Caucasian and Central Asian post-Soviet states an east-west transit corridor not under Russian control, breaking Moscow’s domination which began in the late 19th century when rail lines first began to be built there.
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